Eschscholtz and Von Chamisso Spend a Month at the

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Title: Eschscholtz and Von Chamisso Spend a Month at the Bay of San Francisco
Author(s): Susan Delano McKelvey
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ESCHSCHOLTZ AND VON CHAMISSO SPEND A MONTH
AT THE BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO
[Three previous excerpts taken from Botanical Exploration of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1790-1850, by Susan
Delano McKelvey have appeared in Fremontia (July '94,
January '95, and July '95). Th e period covered in these
issues included the Laperouse expedition in 1786, the
decade from. 1790 to 1800 when Malaspina, Hoenke, and
Nee visited California, and later when Menzies, traveling
with Vancouver, came to California. In the decade from
1800 to 1810, while Lewis and Clark made their way to the
Pacific coast further to the north, little botanical exploration occurred in California. Th e excerpt that follows covers the only explorations in the decade from 1810-1820,
those of two naturalists on board von Kotzebue 's ship, the
Rurik.]
T
HERE ARE A NUMBER of publi shed accounts of the
Kotzebue expedition. Thi s account follows Otto
von Kotzebue's own story, published in London in
1821, and translated from the German edition (Weimar,
1821) by Hannibal Evans Lloyd: A voyage of discovery
into the South Sea and Bee ring's Straits,for the purpose of
exploring a north-east passage, undertaken in the years
1815-1818 in the ship Rurick. under the command of the
Lieutenant in the Russian Navy, Otto von Kotzebue .. .
Lloyd 's preface explains that "The expedition was
known to have originated in the enlarged views of that
Johann Friedri ch Eschscholtz. The origi nal of thi s portrait is probably in
the Komaro,· Botanical In stitute, Leningrad. Print from Hunt Institute
for Botani cal Documentati on, Pittsburg. PA.
)
1
VI.
7.
·'
· ~
.'
Adelbert von Chamisso, a portrait by Ernest Hoff man , courtesy of
Botan ical Museum and Garden. Berlin-Dahlem. Print from Hunt Institute
for Botani cal Documentati on, Pittsburg. PA.
great patron of the sc iences, Hi s Highnes s Count
Romanzoff, Grand Chancellor of the Russian empire, and
to have been fitted out with princely munificence at his
sole expense."
The introduction explains that it had been Count
Romanzoffs original plan to send two ships in search of a
northern passage between the Atlantic and Pac ifi c oceans,
one from east to west, another from west to east, but thi s
had been abandoned in favor of a single vessel and an
exploration eastward. Other objectives were an examination of the coast of North America northward from Bering
Strait and. by twice crossing the Pacific, the acquisition of
greater knowledge of that ocean and its man y islands: "a
rich harvest of objects of natural hi story was to be expected, as the Count had appointed, besides the ship 's
surgeon , an able naturali st to accompany the expedition."
Von Krusenstern had superintended the building of the
ship at Abo (then capital of Finland and some two days '
march from St. Petersburg); its name, Rurick, was chosen
by Count Romanzoff.
In addition to "astronomical and physical instruments"
and so on, the ship had three noteworthy innovation s. One
was a "life, or safety-boat," provided with "airchests." the
invention of "Mr. Fincham, a master ship-builder"; this
proved to be so heavy that it was finally abandoned in
Kamtchatka. A second innovation was ''A di scovery lately
made in England . .. [whi ch] consists in preserving fresh
meat, vegetables, soup, milk. in short eatables of every
VOLUME 26 : 3, JULY 1998
kind, for years together, in a perfectly fresh state. This was
not always satisfactory but must have been of some value
since, back from the voyage, von Kotzebue visited London and "left with the inventor several boxes of patent
meat, as proof how well it had kept ... "The third innovation was "the fine discovery of the eminent natural
philosopher, Mr. Leslie, to produce ice by means of evaporation, even in the hottest room; by which it is possible to
have, even under the equator, the luxury of a cool beverage . .. ''
Two naturalists were of the party, also a physician and
an artist. As first planned these were to have been "Dr.
Ledebour, professor of natural history in the university of
Dorpat ... he had proposed for his assistant Dr. Escholz,
who was to be also the ship's physician ... Dr. Ledebour's
health did not allow him to realise his wish, and M. A.
Von Chamisso, of Berlin, accompanied the expedition as
naturalist in his stead. He was recommended . . . by
Professors Rudolph and Lichtenstein, as a thoroughly
well-informed man, passionately devoted to his department of science ... "
The painter was "A young man, of the name of Choris
. .. The richness of the portfolio . . . brought home ... and
the praise . .. bestowed upon him by the most celebrated
artists of St. Petersburg ... justify the choice of this young
and deserving artist."
Von Kotzebue's journal fills an approximate half of the
three volumes of the Lloyd translation of his Voyage.
The Rurick was launched at Abo on May 11 , 1815, and
on June 18 was anchored "in the road of Cronstadt." By
July 27 she was "furnished with provisions for two years,"
and on July 30 left Cronstadt for Copenhagen. On August
27 she set sail, crossed to Plymouth. England (where the
"safety-boat" was taken aboard, "our whole crew being
scarcely able to lift it into the Rurick . . ."), and in late
September left for Tenerife and the Canary Islands. From
there she sailed to "St. Catherine's," Brazil, arriving in
mid-December. Cape Hom was rounded on January 22,
1816, and A vatscha Bay, the Harbor of St. Peter and St.
Paul [or Petropavlosk], Kamtchatka, reached in mid-July.
Thence the expedition went to Kotzebue Sound' beyond
Bering Strait and then to Unalaska. From there, on September 14, the Rurick sailed for California, for us its important destination. It is not unusual to hear of botanists
being late; on the departure for California Dr. Eschscholtz
was not on hand when the party was ready to leave at
daybreak: he had gone out the night before to botanize,
had reached "an elevated spot," and had been afraid to
descend in the dark!
site the Presidio. Our little Rurick seemed to throw the
Presidio into no small alarm ... we saw many soldiers on
foot and on horseback, and in the fortress itself they were
employed in loading the cannon ... they enquired through
a speaking trumpet, to what nation we belonged, the Russian Imperial flag not being known here."
The answer that "we were Russians, and friends ... "
allayed fears and the party was hospitably welcomed by
the Commandant, Don Luis Arguello, who had received
orders from his government about the party and sent "a
courier to Monterey to acquaint the Governor of California of our arrival."
For one month the Rurick remained in the Bay of San
Francisco for reconditioning and provisioning. While this
was going on "Our naturalists were also employed, as
there was much room for new discoveries in this country,
so seldom visited by learned men. M. Choris was busily
occupied in painting . .. "
The only trip inland from the bay mentioned by von
Kotzebue was to the Mission of San Francisco on October
4: "The weather was extremely fine , and an hour' s ride
brought us to our journey's end, though above half the
road was sandy and mountainous. Only a few small shrubs
here and there diversified the barren hills; and it was not
till we arrived in the neighbourhood of the Mission, that
we met with a pleasant country and recognized the luxuriant scenery of California."
Von Kotzebue thought unfavorably of the Spanish regime in California-the missions exploited the natives
who, once baptized, were virtually slaves: "The rage for
converting savage nations is now spreading over the whole
South Sea, and causes much mischief, because the missionaries do not take pains to make men of them before
The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was collected by
Chamisso and named for Eschscholtz. Drawing courtesy of the Jepson
Herbarium.
1816
At midnight of October 1 they saw "by moonlight the
Cap de los Reyes ... "and the next day "at four o'clock in
the afternoon dropped anchor in Port St. Francisco, oppoVOLUME 2 6:3 , JULY 1998
FREMONTIA 21
they make them Christians .. ." The soldiers
were in little better plight
than the natives; they
were destitute of clothing and had not been
paid for seven years.
Nothing is said of any
visit to the Russian
settlement at Bodega
which lay "half a day 's
journey by water to the
north of San Francisco,
and is called by the
Spaniards Port Bodega.
The harbour is only for
small ships."
On November I , a
month after arrival, "The
Rurick was now again
quite in order." The parCalifornia bee-plant (Sc rophularia
ty "had been abundantly
califomica ) was collected and named
supplied
with provisions
by Chamisso. Drawing by Margaret
Warriner Buck.
by the inhabitants ... "
and the "crew were all
in good health ... " At
nine in the morning the ship set sail and in an hour was out
of the bay, bound for the Sandwich Islands; even when
two miles out to sea they could still "hear the loud how lings
of the sea-lions, which were lying on the shore on the
stones ... "
The expedition remained in the Hawaiian Islands until
mid-December.
1817-1818
In 1817 it visited Radack in the Polynesian group and
then returned to the Arctic regions, still searching for the
northeast passage; in mid-July von Kotzebue gave up this
quest because of ill-health and the Rurick started homeward, stopping at the Hawaiian and other islands of the
Pacific and reaching the Philippines in mid-December.
In late July, 1818, the Rurick resumed its way , doubled
the Cape of Good Hope on February 30 and reached
Portsmouth, England, in mid-June. From there it crossed
to Copenhagen; "with an indiscribable emotion" von
Kotzebue saw again on July 23 his native town of Reval
left three years before, and on August 3 the ship "cast
anchor in the Newa [Neva], opposite to the palace of
Count Romanzoff."
The itinerary is not difficult to follow in von Kotzebue' s
story. It is given in simplified form by August C. Mahr, to
whose publication I refer later.
Most of the last half of volume two and the greater part
of volume three of von Kotzebue's Voyage is devoted to
22 FREMONTIA
the "Remarks and opinions of the naturalist of the expedition, Adelbert von Chamisso," some fourteen pages of
which describe the visit to California. The "Appendix by
other authors" completes the third volume; its articles
were for the most part written by Dr. Eschscholtz, although von Chamisso contributed a "Postscript and corrections and remarks." Neither the plates nor the "charts"
included in the three volumes relate to California.
I quote from von Chamisso' s "Remarks and opinions"
(his chapter on California): "A low ridge of mountains
borders the coast of California, where we saw it. and
intercepts the prospect into the interior of the country. It
has not a volcanic appearance. The harbour of San Francisco .. . enters through a narrow passage, receives some
rivers from the interior, branches out behind the eminences, and forms into a peninsula, the country lying south
of the entrance. The Presidio and Mission of San Francisco lie on this tongue of land, which, with its hills and
downs, was the narrow field which lay immediately open
to our researches ...
"The environs of San Francisco, in the northern hemisphere, are much poorer in natural productions than the
coast of Chili, under the same latitude, in the southern. In
the spring, when winter has afforded the earth some
moisture, the hill s and valleys are indeed adorned with
brilliant iris and other flowers; but the drought soon destroys them.
"The fogs, which the prevailing sea-winds blow over
the coast, dissolve in summer over a heated and parched
soil, and the country exhibits in autumn only the prospect
of bare scorched tracts, alternating with poor stunted bushes,
and in places, with dazzling wastes of drift sand. Dark pine
forests appear here and there on the ridge of the mountains, between the Punta de los Reyes and the harbour of
San Francisco. The prickly-leaved oak, Quercus agrifolia,
is the most common and largest tree. With crooked boughs
and entangled branches, it lies, like the other bushes , bent
towards the land; and the flattened tops, swept by the seawind, seem to have been clipped by the gardener's shears.
The Flora of this country is poor, and is not adorned by one
of those species of plants which are produced by a warmer
sun. It however offers much novelty to the botanist. Wellknown North American species are found mixed with
others belonging to the country; and most of the kinds are
yet undescribed. Only ... Menzies and Langsdortf have
made collections here; and the fruits of their industry are
not yet made known to the world. The season was not very
favourable for us. We, however, gathered the seeds of
several plants, and have reason to hope that we shall be
able to enrich our gardens with them." References to the
flora of California end at thi s point.
Von Chamisso, like von Kotzebue, was not impressed
regarding Spanish rule in California. His opinion of the
missions was unfavorable: "The contempt which the missionaries have for the people, to whom they are sent,
seems to us, considering their pious occupation, a very
VOLUME 26:3, JULY 1998
unfortunate circumstance." Like other visitors to the region he refers to a windmill , undoubtedly the one left by
De Langle of the Laperouse expedition: it "creates astonishment, but does not find imitators." He found the political situation unstable.
"Spain has given way in the affair of Nootka [coveted
by two nations] . England and the United States, without
regarding its vain territorial possessions, are negotiating
about the colony [the post of Astoria] at the mouth of the
Columbia; and the Russian American Company have still
a settlement [Fort Ross] a few leagues north of San Francisco."
Von Chamisso's Tagebuch (diary), included in his collected works, is more interesting reading than his "Remarks and opinions." The portion telling of the visit to San
Francisco has been twice published in English translation:
first by G. D. McElroy in 1873; again by A. C. Mahr in
1932, who reprints the McElroy translation with a few
minor changes. I shall quote from the Mahr transcript and
insertions between brackets are his.
At the time of the Rurick 's visit, Spanish-Russian relations were none too good. Alexander von Baranoff had
placed Ivan A. Kuskoff in charge of Fort Ross. The Spanish resented the presence of the Russians .
"Bodaga lying about thirty miles north of San Francisco, a half-day 's journey, was considered by Spain, and
not without some show of justice Uustification], as her
own soil and territory ... Kosoff, on Spanish soil and territory, had .. . built a handsome fort, defended by a dozen
cannon, and there carried on farming .... There he has his
storehouses, for the smuggling trade with the Spanish forts
[posts]; and there he captured by means of his Kodiakers,
about 2,000 [several thousand] sea otters ... yearly, on the
California coast. . . .
It did [does] not seem to me incomprehensible that the
Governor of California should have been very angry when
he received a late notice of this settlement. Various measures were [had been] taken to induce Herr Kuskoff to
evacuate the place but he referred all the Spanish emissaries to Herr Baranoff, who had ordered him here [there],
and at whose command he would willingly leave the
place, in case the order was given. So stood matters when
we came to San Francisco . .. ."
Russia was not the only nation causing anxiety to
Spain. "The claims of Spain to the territories on this coast
were not more highly respected by the Americans and
English than by the Russians ....
Von Chamisso, botanist though he was, makes but two
references to plants, both semi-jocose: "The year was
already old, and the country, which in the spring months
... blooms like a flower-garden, presented now to the
botanists only a dry, arid field. In a swamp, near by our
tent, a water-plant had [is supposed to have] grown, which
Eschscholtz asked me about after our departure. I had not
observed it; he, however, had reckoned that a water-plant,
my especial love, would not have escaped me, and did not
VOLUME 26:3 , JULY 1 998
wish to get his feet wet.
So much may one expect by relying on one's
friends!"
"Don Pablo Vincenti,
as he came to our tent
from the Presidio . . .
brought a present su
amigo Don Alberto, a
flower which he had
picked on the way, and
which he gave me ceremonious! y. It happened
to be our wild tansy, or
silver leaf ( Potentilla
anserina), and could not
bloom more beautifully,
even in Berlin [and it
could not have bloomed
more perfectly near
Berlin.]"
Stick y monkey-flower (Mimulus
Louis Choris ' Voyaurantiacus) still grows in the Presidio
age pittoresque autour
where Chamisso first collected it.
Drawing by Margaret Warriner Buck.
du monde, published in
Paris in 1822, supplies
some general information regarding the California visit but, although thirteen
pages of text and ten colored plates are devoted to the
region, no plants are mentioned save those growing at the
Mission of San Francisco. The frontispiece is a portrait of
"Le Comte N. Romanzoff, Chancelier de ['Empire, etc.
etc." One plate includes two pleasing sketches: one of the
"Cap de los Reyes a6 miles de distance," the other "L' entree
du Port de San Francisco a7 miles de distance."
The collections made in California by von Chamisso
and Eschscholtz were published for the first time in three
different periodicals: ( 1) In Horae physicae Berolinenses
.. . edited by C. G. Nees von Esenbeck. Here, in 1820,
von Chamisso first described (in addition to the two
genera Romanzoffia and Euxenia) the everywhere-admired California poppy, Eschscholtzia californica; here
the generic name was spelled Eschscholzia. The description was accompanied by a beautiful colored plate on
which the name was spelled Eschholzia. The genus was
dedicated to von Chamisso 's companion Dr. Eschscholtz:
"Nomen in honorem dixi consortia omnium laborum in
itinere soler-tissimi, doctissimi, amicissimi Eschscholzii,
Medicinae Doctoris, Botanicae aeque ac Etomologiae
pertissimi." The plant's habitat was described as "in
arenis sterilibus siccis ad portum Sancti Francisci
Californiae."
In order to secure wider circulation of the description
of Eschscholtzia, von Chamisso republished it, with minor changes, in Linnaea in 1826. When first describing
the California poppy in 1820 von Chamisso had noted
that its seed had been planted. In republishing the descripFREMONTIA 23
tion in 1826 he reported, however, that it had not grown
satisfactorily.
(2) In the Memoires de l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, in 1826, Eschscholtz published
his "Descriptiones plantarum novae californiae Following
the title is the important notation: "Conventui exhibuit die
18. Junii I 823," indicating that this paper had been presented, or perhaps read, on June 18, 1823, or about one
month before Eschscholtz started on his second voyage
with von Kotzebue, a trip which took him to California for
the second time in 1824. The plants described in his paper
must, therefore, have been collected on Eschscholtz's first
visit to California in 1816 although publication of his
paper in the Memoires was delayed until I 826, some three
years after the presentation (or perhaps reading). When it
appeared (ser. 5, vol. 10) it was along with numerous other
papers on a variety of subjects such as cockroaches, bats,
longitudes of Astrakan, etc., etc., which had been presented from two to forty-six years before they finally
appeared in print. No reference has been found which
indicates that Eschscholtz revised his original paper after
he had been in California in I 824.
Eschscholtz's "Descriptiones plantarum ... " was reprinted (in abstract) in the Lirteratur-Bericht zur Linnaea
fur des Jahrl828 (Linnaea 3: 147-153, 1828). Butin the
reprint the important statement that the paper had been
presented in I 823 was omitted. This omission, plus the
fact, perhaps, that no dates of collection are cited by
Eschscholtz, may be responsible for the conclusion, reached
by one author at least, that the plants described were
collected on Eschscholtz's second visit to California in
I 824, which does not seem to have been the case.
(3) In Linnaea. Ein Journal fur die Botanik . . . edited by
Diedericus F. L. von Schlechtendal, von Charnisso's California collections were published from 1826 to I 836 inclusive. Included were not only his new discoveries but, as
well, rediscovered plants previously described from the
same region or from elsewhere by other botanists. California plants are not segregated from those from other regions.
California plants are to be found in volumes 1 ( 1826), 2
(1827), 3 (1828), 4 (1829), 6 (1831) and 10 (1836) of
Linnaea. The first article (volume 1) of the series in which
they appeared was entitled "De plantis in expeditione
speculatoria Romanzoffiana observatis rationem dicunt
Adelbertus de Charnisso et Diedericus de Schlechtendal";
this title varies slightly in later volumes (in 2, 3, 4, 6), the
words "rationem dicunt', changed to "dissere pergunt." In
volume 10 the title is "De plan tis in expeditione speculatoria
Romanzoffiana et in herbariis regiis Beroliensibus
observatis dicere pergit Adelbertus de Charnisso."
Von Chamisso turned over to other botanists certain
families of plants which he had collected: we find plants of
the Labiatae described by George Bentham (Linnaea
6,1831 ), of the "Synantherae" or Compositae by Christian
Friedrich Lessing (Linnaea 6,183 I) and of the Legurninosoe
by Theodor Vogel (Linnaea l 0, I 835-1836;issued in 1836).
24 FREMONTIA
When, in 1932, August C. Mahr published ''The visit of
the 'Rurik' to San Francisco in 1816," he carefully segregated all the plants from California described in Linnaea,
listing them in the order issued, with volume and page
references and with various enlightening comments. Where
new genera and species are described Mahr quotes the
original descriptions in full; species collected in California
but previously described by other botanists are also cited
but without description. Included are "the modem names
of all the plants mentioned, according to the nomenclature
used by W. L. Jepson in his Manual of the Flowering
Plants of California (Berkeley, California, 1923, 1925), or
his descriptions."
Also inserted by Mahr "in the places where Chamisso
mentions them in his taxonomy" are " Eschscholtz' descriptions of two species [out of his twelve novelties],
published in Memoires de I' Acadernie des Sciences de St.
Petersbourg, Vol. X, pp. 283-284 . .. "These are Lonicera
Ledebourii and Ribes tubulosum which had appeared in
Eschscholtz's "Descriptiones plantarum," already mentioned under (2) above. Mahr states: "The descriptions of
two new species of California plants and of a California
butterfly, are the only contributions by J. F. Eschscholtz to
this compilation of material concerning the visit of the
'Rurik' to San Francisco." A statement which can be true
only if my supposition (that Eschscholtz' s plants were all
collected in 1816) is false.
In 1944 Miss Alice Eastwood published a short article
entitled "The botanical collections of Chamisso and
Eschscholtz in California." In this she lists the species
collected by the two botanists, but omits the descriptions.
The plants collected by von Charnisso and described in
Linnaea are separated into two lists, the first including
"new species," the second "Species also . . . collected, not
considered as new . .. "
The author noted of von Chamisso's collections: "The
locality cited was 'ad portum San Francisco' and all were
collected, according to Charnisso, in the hills and downs
about the Presidio. Very few if any are to be found there
to-day." Further: "On the first expedition, during the month
of October, sixty-nine species were collected. Among
them were two new genera and thirty-three species. Three
were synonyms having been previously described by other
authors."
Further: "On the second expedition [1824], Eschscholtz
named and described thirteen species, three among them
previously described." As already noted, Eschscholtz's
"Descriptiones plantarum" ... published in the Memoires
of the St. Petersburg Academy had been presented in 1823
or before he started on his second expedition-although
this fact is not mentioned in the Linnaea abstract-and the
plants must, therefore, have been collected on his visit of
1816. The error is understandable, since Miss Eastwood
states that "Linnaea has been my source of information
concerning these important collections."
Eastwood notes that "Eschscholtz does not give the
VOLUME 26:3 , JULY 1998
exact place where his collections were made, but from the
plants collected all but one could have come from San
Francisco."
Asa Gray-writing in 1840 of the collections in the
"royal Prussian herbarium ... deposited at Schoneberg (a
little village in the environs of Berlin) opposite the royal
botanic garden and in the garden of the Horticultural Society .. ."reported that the general herbarium contained the
"botanical collections made by Chamisso ... many .. . from
the coast of Russian America and from California . . ."
In 1880 Alphonse de Candolle, in La phytographie,
records the whereabouts of collections made on the voyage of the Rurick thus: "Chamisso (de). Herb de 10 a
12,000 esp. , a 1' Academie imp. des sci. de Saint Petersbourg. Des doubles dans les herb . de Berlin (destroyed in
WW II) et de L' Univ. de Kiel.
"Chords. Herb. du Jardin imp. de Saint-Petersbourg.
"Eschscholtz. Plantes de l'exped. de Kotzebue, aujardin
imp. de Saint-Petersbourg. (1 ,300 esp.)."
After von Chamisso ' s death in 1837, his friend von
Schlechtendal published a tribute to his memory in Linnaea
(1839). I cite from the rather poor English translation
published in the London Journal of Botany in 1843:
Von Chamisso-"very much a self-taught Botanist . . ."
-first began to study plants at Copet, near Lake Geneva,
Switzerland; this was near the home of Madame de Stael,
whose son, Baron Auguste von Stael Holstein, first interested him in botany and was his companion on collecting
excursions. Von Schlechtendal first became acquainted
with von Chamisso in 1813. He describes their botanical
trips and "the many incidents of these herborizations .. .
Chamisso was ever the foremost ... An antique garb ,
once the state dress of a South Sea Chief, much worn,
mended and stained, with a black cap of cloth or velvet, a
large green box suspended by leather straps over his
back, and a short pipe in his mouth, together with a rude
tobacco pouch: such was the attire in which he sallied
forth .. . when evening came .. . weary, travel-soiled, he
did not make a very splendid appearance while bearing a
pocket handkerchief crammed with plants, he met, on
returning to Berlin, the beau monde .. . all in their Sunday
attire .. ."
When on the Rurick, "The only individual who entered
at all into his tastes, though he possessed not the same
energy in collecting, was Eschscholtz. He too, gathered
some plants and profited by the liberality of Chamisso,
who exchanged duplicates and gave him specimens . ..
Eschscholtz himself described only a few of his specimens
. .. Chamisso was obliged to publish his collections at his
own cost. Returning to Prussia . . . he presented the
zoological and mineralogical portion to the University
Museum at Berlin .. ."
In 1819 von Chamisso was given the honorary degree
of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Berlin and
was appointed "Assistant in the Berlin Botanical Institution," and directed to " . . . pay particular attention to the
VOLUME 26 :3, JULY 1 998
Botanical Garden." After fire had destroyed his home at
Neu Schoneberg he moved to Berlin where he and von
Schlechtendal worked together in the "Royal Herbarium
which contained Willdenow ' s collections." When the latter began his "exclusively Botanical Journal, the Linnaea,"
von Chamisso started work on his own collections. Discussing his custom of sharing his collections with other
botanists, the biographer comments:
"Happily this noble spirit of liberality is gaining ground
among Botanists and superseding the narrow minded avarice with which naturalists were too apt to keep to themselves every thing but their opinions and dogmas on science .. ."
He states that "only an inconspicuous looking plant
among the Amaranthaceae, described by his friend Kunth,
bears his name . . ."
Mahr' s introduction supplies an understanding picture
of von Chamisso. He suggests that the romance, Peter
Schlemihl (which "secured for its author a lasting place in
German literature and became known all over the world in
numerous translations .. .") was in a sense symbolic ofvon
Chamisso' sown "tragic condition of disconnectedness, of
being a man without a country." Born of noble parentage
in Champagne, France, in 1781 , he was, when nine years
of age, exiled with his family during the French Revolution ; they finally made their home in Berlin. As a boy von
Chamisso served as a page in the household of the royal
family of Prussia and then entered the army . But he was
never happy in army life; nor, when he visited his family
after their return to France, did he ever feel at home in the
land of his birth.
"When in 1813 the War of liberation broke out,
Chamisso again became painfully conscious of his ambiguous national position; although he fully approved of
Prussia's strife for liberty from French oppression, yet he
found it impossible to bear arms against his native country."
After Napoleon's return from Elba, von Charnisso " . . .
found himself in similar patriotic difficulty." It was then
that he received his appointment as naturalist with von
Kotzebue 's expedition. Aged fifty- six, he died on August
21,1837, at his home in Berlin.
According to Mahr, "Johann Friedrich (Ivan Ivanovitch)
Eschscholtz was born at Dorpat, in the Baltic Province of
Russia, on November 12,1793. He studied medicine and
zoology and acquired the degree of Medicinae Doctor. He
traveled on the 'Rurick' as ship ' s surgeon, and also accompanied Kotzebue on his second expedition, from 1823
to 1826 ... He became professor of zoology at Dorpat,
where he died in 1831."
[Botanical Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi was originally published by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University in 1956 and was reprinted by the Oregon State
University Press, Corvallis, in 1991. This slightly edited
version is reprinted with permission.]
FREMONTIA 25